Steal of a Deal

WOO HOO!!  I am so excited.  I am just starting to plan my daughters First Holy Communion.  I just love having parties.  I have been talking to some mothers lately and getting scared at the thought of how expensive a dress and accessories will be.  Some of these mothers are so caddy it's pathetic.  I hear stories of how some dres shops will ask these mothers what church are you from and say well don't look at these dresses because someone else will be wearing it.  WHO CARES!  So anyway I took my daughter to this boutique that was going out of business (they deal with our church)  one of a kind dresses going for 400 bucks were only 50!!  Of course I couldnt find anything we liked let alone in her size so that was discouraging.  I decided to take a ride to the Staten Island Mall and hit up JC Penny (another mother told me to check it out). 

When my daughter and I seen the dresses I was singing alleluhia.  The most expensive dress I seen was around $140 bucks.  We took a handful to try on and after she tried on the 2nd dress we both said that was the one.  Now mind you, when I showed it to the little Demon Diva "eww I don't like it" she says.  Too bad your trying it on any way cause Mama said so!  Go to the register and I was expecting to pay $70 bucks..even asked the woman if there were any coupons and of course there weren't any....it was on sale and I snagged it for $42 bucks!!  I was doing a happy dance.  The more I save the more people we can have at the party.  We can talk about that topic another day as we really start getting into the nitty gritty of this party planning. 

Not some Ordinary Friday night dinner

So Friday started out as any typical day.   A bunch of kids stressing me out, dog barking, and that much hated question of the day "What are we eatin dinner?"   Friday nights is our busiest night of the week....I babysit until 6pm, daughter had Brownie scouts at 4, son has karate at 6 and boyscouts at 7:30. The night doesn't wind down until 9pm.  We decided to skip karate that night and go to TGI Fridays but then would have to rush to Boyscouts when we were done.

First we had to wait about 15 minutes, then once we were seated my husband was teasing my daughter about something.  She is almost  8 and I seriously think she has PMS!  He kept bothering her so she said "Leave me alone" and wacked his glasses of his face.  So the husband caught an attitude then she was upset and I was annoyed because they are both stubborn.  The more I would say to him come on lets have a nice dinner he would just say leave me alone. 

Almost done with appetizers when suddenly my sons jumps up with hands on his throat.  Now let me tell you a little bit about me...I use to be a volunteer first aider and rode in an ambulance (where I met my huband)  I can handle blood and guts (except puke)  but when it comes to my family  I am a lunatic.  My husband and I stood up.  I was facing my son and my husband was in the back of him just about to do the heimlech.  My son looks  at me dead in the eye with absolute fear.  I wanted to start screaming  HELP  HELP  MY SON IS CHOKING.   I don't know how but I managed to keep my compsure.  I tried to assure him he will be ok...we will help him...don't worry.  My son has choked before and he normally runs like a crazy chicken and we have to try to catch him to help him.   He was able to walk away from the table and got up whatever was choking him.  (Mozzarella stick) 

He came back from the bathroom and he was so upset.  I tried to comfort him and my husband kept telling me to leave him alone.  I will not!!!  If you know my husband  he doesn't like any attention brought to him.  My son then tells me he lost his appetite because he was embarrassed and wondered why everything happened to him.   I just wanted to cry with him.  My poor baby.  Of course I told him there was nothing to be embarrassed about and he was my miracle from God.  God wouldn't take my miracle away.  Now if you know my son...you don't mess with that kids food.  It had to be killing him not to be able to eat.  After about 5 minutes of having no appetite it suddenly came back and he ate.   We never made it to Boyscouts....he was traumatized....My husband asked him today if he wanted mozzarella sticks.  Bastard!

Rollercoaster thoughts

My mind is like a slow moving roller coaster.  Ya know when the operator is slowly taking down each car to let people off.....well each car in my brain represents a thing on the to do list, someone I am thinking about, bills, kids, etc, etc.  I've been spending alot of time on the internet lately.  First I was trying to learn how to become a licsensed daycare provider and being a Sole proprietorship, then I was looking for the perfect invitations, centerpiece, favors and candy table ideas  for my daughters upcoming communion and now I am trying to plan her spa party for her bithday next month.  I almost forgot...trying to plan a getaway for next month in the Poconos to go snowtubing at Camelback and a night at The Great Wolf Lodge.   UUUUGGHHHH!!  I can't get this roller coaster to ever stop.  You know what I would love to have?  A weekend all to myself!  No phones, no kids, no husband.  I want to lay around in my pajamas all weekend and do nothing but watch TV and read some magazines and have cereal for dinner.  Is that too much to ask?  I think that is what I am going to ask for Mother's Day.  If I will survive this madness by then

Oh how I love my magazines

Just about 2 years ago I started subscribing to a magazone called ALL YOU.  I only ordered it because it was one of the cheapest subscriptions that a friend was selling for her kids school fundraiser.  I am an avid magazine reader/hoarder.  You mess with my magazines and ya might as well be punching me in the face.  I dont know why I love them so much but i always have to buy them when I am at the grocey store.  I recently started hiding them in my car or underneath other papers in the house because my husband has had it up to his eyeballs with my obsession.  I just can't throw them away or give them away until I have read every single sentence.  It actually breaks my heart when I throw them out. Up until a fight we had 2 years ago I actually had brand new Parenting magazines still in the plastic from when my son was born.  He is 11 now!  I probably threw out more than 100 magazines that were stockpiled on my side of the bed.  That whole night I fellt like someone died.  After a few days it felt good to rid of the clutter.  Fast forward two years later....I have another 100 or so back on my side of the bed!!  I just can't help it.  Magazines to me is like crack to a junkie.  I JUST HAVE TO HAVE THEM! 

Anyhow, I really love ALL YOU  it has lots of little articles, lots of recipes, diet and exercise tips, fashion tips and the best this is COUPONS!!!    According to an article that I read in ALL YOU magazine    http://www.freepeats.org/ they
"Pass on your baby clothing, gear, toys, maternity wear and more to local parents, and find items you want that others are giving away. Freepeats is an easy, convenient way to recycle baby, kid and maternity items with a lot of life left in them."

I love Hand Me Downs! Check it out!!!!

Am I getting Old or Do I have the right to be angry

I was so shaken up today.  I was on the way to pick up one of my charges from pre school and I already had 2 babies snuggly strapped into their carseats.   I was driving past a train station and there was a bunch of catholic school kids who must have gotten out of school early (it was only 10:30am) Suddenly BAM!!  My car got hit with a huge snowball on my front windshield.  I immediately stopped the car short, got ot of the car and screamed "Are you a bunch of A$$holes?"  I have two babies in the car and you could have caused an accident."  I then proceeded to tell them that I was going to call the police.  One of them apologized but he wasn't the one who threw the snowball.  They probably thought I was a loon and laughed when I pulled away.

I finally got to the school with my heart racing and I actually dialed the precinct but then quickly hung up.  For those of you who know that my hubbys job is to protect and serve I figured if I made that call I would never hear the end of it from him.  It's bad enough we had an argument over pictures that were on my son's facebook page and he was calling me a snitch for calling the other kids parents.  I could only imagine what he would have said to me if i called the police for these teenage idiots. 

Anyway as I was sitting waiting for my preschooler I started saying to myself  am I getting old?  Did I over react?  If I was in an accident those kids are my resposibility. 

To Wii or Not to Wii is the question

  I love playing the Nintendo Wii with the kids when I get the chance or should I say when they beg me.  I'm tellin ya I just lost my spark.  I received The Biggest Loser game for the Wii  at Christmas time and have been dying to try it out but I think I am a little intimidated by it.

2009 came and went and I totally blew my goal for losing weight by my 35th bday.  I always tell my friends if I drop enough weight I am going to dress like a hooker!  My plan for 2010 was to get up at 6am to do the Wii workout, get the kids ready for school, take a walk with the children I babysit and maybe hit the YMCA in the evening a few nights a week.  I am exhausted just hearing that stupid plan..  

So the question is should I Wii or not Wii?  Maybe if I can just push myself to get started I will fall into the routine I want and get out of this friggin terrible rut I am in.  I have never been this lazy in my life.  If I ever get started I will post some before and after pics and a product review on the game

The ramblings of my mind

Sometimes I am told that I am in "Jennys World", ya know the world where there are unicorns,fairies and I tune everyone out. I feel like the past few months I have been in my own world. I seem to have lost that pep in my step. All I want to do is surf the web and watch tv. Lately I do just enough around the house for it to be OK. This is not who I want to be, but how can I get out of this rut? I have been a stay at home mom now since April of 2008 after being layed off from a company I worked for 16 years and I'm still a disorganized train wreck. Some people seem to think I have lots of time but I feel there is never enough time.

Trying to stay afloat in these economic hard times keeps me up at night. I am always trying to find a way to make money or to cut back somewhere. But How? My husband has two nicknames for me... Lucy and Stanley. Lucy because of all of my ideas to make money turn out to be a scene from the I Love Lucy show! Stanley because of my new found love of never going anywhere without a coupon or how I add paper towels to the bottom of the Clorox canister just to use up all of the clorox.

It seems my mind is on a never ending roller coaster...endless things to do, family obligations, trying to be organized and clutter free in life, home and my job of caring for others kids. My mother always says to me she doesn't know how I do it all or I should be skinny because I am always on the go. I don't know either mom. I guess I am on auto pilot. On top of all that I struggle with my weight, trying to be supermom and wife, and I worry alot about my extended family. i can just ramble on and on what goes through my head

Love my Keurig coffee pot

This past Christmas I was a very good girl and Santa bought me the Keurig Platinum coffee maker. I LOVE IT and I think everyone should own one!! I usually only drank about 1-2 cups of coffee a day, but I think this coffee pot is making me drink more! It is so easy to use, easy to clean and there are so many varieties of coffee to choose from. This coffee maker was purchsed at Costco for $139.00. It came with 72 k-cups, a reuseable filter (great to use your own coffee instead of the k-cups)It has 4 cup settings one of them includes an iced coffee. I would highly recommend the Keurig for anyone. It is perfect for on the go, and especially great when you have company come over and you can offer them several varieties of coffee to choose from. If you register your coffee maker through Keurig.com give you 2 free boxes of K-cups when you purchase 2. That is a great deal.

Breaking a Parents Bad Habits

Well I never did get the chance to buy new pillows. I am just too tired and unmotivated to do ANYTHING lately. I currently babysit for 4 kids age 1-8 plus my own 2 who are almost 8 and 11. I only started watching the 1 year old and 8 year old the beginning of this year. The 1 year old is a challenge and the 8 year old brother can test my patience. I must have forgotten the days of whining and crying because I don't remember my kids acting like this. The one year old cries when I leave her sight. She is adorable and very loving. Always walking up to me for a hug, a kiss or just to snuggle. She even tackles the other kids for hugs. When she is dropped off and picked up she seems like she never wants to leave. Naptime has been very challenging lately. She will not go into the crib and alot of times I either have to hold her or lay next to her until she falls asleep. Nap time is my saving grace. That is when I TRY to get things done around the house, check emails or make phone calls. Turns out her parents let her sleep in their bed so they can rest but she still gets up 3-4x a night. HOW CAN I BREAK THIS HABIT?? Did I also mention she barely eats and only wants Gerber puffs? If she doesnt get her way, she screams and cries louder. I can't even go to the bathroom or answer the door without her or there will be loud crying with snot and crocodile tears for at least 20 minutes....ANyone have a suggestion or advice to offer. This might be the child that will be my breaking point. HEEEELLLLLLPPPPPPPPP

Welcome to Just Call Me Lucy

Hi and welcome to Just call me Lucy. After talking with another mother that I met at a friends house, she got my wheels spinning on becoming a blogger. Just call me LUCY! (Ricardo that is) I'm always looking for ways to earn and save money. You won't see me trying to to make a Vita Vita Vegeman commercial or working in a chocolate factory but you may hear about my the trials and tribulations of life, the adventures in babysitting and  being a wife, mother, and chief domestic engineer of my home. Once I get the hang of blogging and building this blog you might even hear me talk about things I purchased, places I visited or experiences I had.

Well I am off to start a new adventure for the day.....trying to find the new pillows for my bed! It seems like I can never find the right one that is comfortable to sleep with and in my price range (CHEAP)